CRH Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:CRH)

CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 10,262 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 64% compared to the average volume of 6,253 put options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of CRH by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 40,843,362 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,781,004,000 after purchasing an additional 4,687,345 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CRH by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 39,163,930 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,624,719,000 after buying an additional 145,101 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CRH by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,788,918 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,553,194,000 after buying an additional 2,437,868 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of CRH during the 4th quarter worth about $1,391,245,000. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of CRH by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,139,233 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,218,532,000 after buying an additional 618,786 shares during the period. 62.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CRH Price Performance

CRH stock opened at $98.46 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.65 billion, a PE ratio of 19.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s 50-day moving average is $99.25 and its 200-day moving average is $95.99. CRH has a fifty-two week low of $71.18 and a fifty-two week high of $110.97.

CRH Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from CRH’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. CRH’s payout ratio is currently 20.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of CRH from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of CRH from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of CRH from $118.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Berenberg Bank set a $120.00 price target on shares of CRH in a research note on Friday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $109.25.

About CRH

CRH plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides building materials solutions in Ireland and internationally. It operates through four segments: Americas Materials Solutions, Americas Building Solutions, Europe Materials Solutions, and Europe Building Solutions. The company provides solutions for the construction and maintenance of public infrastructure and commercial and residential buildings; and produces and sells aggregates, cement, readymixed concrete, and asphalt, as well as provides paving and construction services.